Rice football dropped a one-score game to Army at West Point. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 1?
| Team | Last Week | Result | This Week |
| Charlotte | — OFF — | W, 49-28 | vs Gardner Webb |
| FAU | — OFF — | L, 45-21 | at Ohio St |
| FIU | — OFF — | L, 42-14 | at Tulane |
| LaTech | — OFF — | L, 45-14 | at Texas |
| Marshall | — OFF — | W, 56-17 | vs VMI |
| MTSU | — OFF — | L, 40-21 | at Michigan |
| North Texas | — OFF — | W, 51-31 | vs Abilene Christian |
| ODU | — OFF — | W, 24-21 | vs Norfolk St |
| Rice | — OFF — | L, 14-7 | at Army |
| Southern Miss | — OFF — | W, 38-10 | vs Alcorn St |
| UAB | — OFF — | W, 24-19 | vs Alabama St |
| UTEP | — OFF — | W, 36-34 | vs Houston Baptist |
| UTSA | — OFF — | W, 35-7 | vs Incarnate Word |
| WKU | — OFF — | L, 35-28 | vs Central Ark. |
Notable Week 1 results
Rice fights
Army has the second-longest winning streak in the nation, but that didn’t stop Rice from pushing the Black Knights to the limit on Friday night. Missed opportunities, including a pair of missed field goals, stalled any hopes of an upset. Still, the Rice defense looked absolutely terrifying in their 2019 debut.
FCUpset
Two CUSA head coaches made their debuts on Thursday. One, Will Healy of the Charlotte 49ers, celebrated shirtless following his team’s blowout victory over Gardner Webb. The other, Tyson Helton at Western Kentucky, saw his team give up three fourth quarter touchdowns and lose at home.
Winner, winner
It came down to the wire, but UTEP won a football game on their own field for the first time since Nov. 26, 2016. A packed house of 34,646 fans watched anxiously before being rewarded by an exciting offensive display, including an 80-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Jones to Tre’Shone Wolf on the Miners’ first play.
Week 2 storylines
Conference play starts early
Western Kentucky and FIU face an added challenge next week when they kick off CUSA conference play against each other in Miami. After tough losses suffered by both teams in Week 1, an 0-2 start coupled with the sting of an 0-1 conference hole could prove devastating.
Can anyone stun a state power?
With a few exceptions, most of the conference started off their season against another Group of 5 team or an FCS squad in Week 1. Week 2 features a host of Power 5 opponents across the conference: Texas Tech, Baylor, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech. Will anyone be able to muster an upset?
Kiffin complex
Lane Kiffin has come a long way from his debut season at FAU. The Owls were shellacked by Ohio State in Week 1 and face a ranked UCF squad which blanked Florida A&M 62-0. The wheels aren’t coming off in Boca Raton just yet, but FAU needs a win in the worst way to avert things heading in that direction.
